1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bicycle seat designed to eliminate physical stress in the crouch area of riders' using the seat.
Conventional seats that are presently used on many bicycles are of a one-piece design and include a wider portion upon which the rider's buttocks rest and a narrow "horn" portion positioned on a forward portion of the seat, the "horn" portion extending forward between the upper thighs of a rider immediately beneath the rider's crouch area.
When riding a bicycle in a seated position and leaning forward on a conventional bicycle seat such as that described immediately above, a considerable portion of the weight of the rider is supported on the horn portion of the seat and thus the rider's crouch area is subject to an upward force thereon amounting to a considerable portion of the weight of the rider.
This considerable upward pressure can have adverse physical effects on the rider including a sore or numb posterior, chafed upper inner thigh areas, and increasing incidents prostatitis among male cyclists. Further, all of these problems resulting from the use of a one-piece bicycle seat including a forwardly projecting "horn" are magnified in the case of heavier bicycle riders. Accordingly, a need exists for a bicycle seat which may be more comfortably used by bicycle riders, and in particular heavier bicycle riders.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different bicycle saddles or seats heretofore have been devised to provide a more comfortable ride for a bicycle rider.
U.S. Pat. No. 608,089 to L. P. Wellman discloses a dual top or cup seat, which may be adjusted in width, and which includes tops or cups which are mounted for limited vertical movement and are spring biased upwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 619,768 to R. Lewis, Jr. discloses a dual seat construction wherein the two tops of the seat are spring mounted and may be canted in substantially any direction about vertical axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 689,493 to J. Jarvis discloses a dual top cycle saddle or seat specifically designed for carrying rifles, fishing-rods, hockey sticks or polo seats and like articles on bicycles. In addition, the Jarvis dual top saddle includes a pair opposite side spring mounted seat tops or pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 749,865 to J. Jarvis discloses a dual top seat which is similar in many respects to the dual top seat described immediately above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,559, to Bernard H. Prang et al discloses a dual top seat including inversely oscillatable pads which are pivotally mounted for oscillation about horizontal transverse axes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,668 to William Rouw discloses a dual top bicycle seat including opposite side pads which are oscillatable about center horizontal, longitudinal axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,435 to A. Joseph Aldi discloses a bicycle seat including a spring mounted center section having opposite side wing portions pivotally supported therefrom and which pivot from downward and outward inclined positions to horizontal or slightly upwardly inclined positions in response to increased downward pressure on the center seat section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,025 to Richard A. Denisar discloses a dual top bicycle seat which is similar to the Prange et al seat discussed above, but which is further mounted for oscillation, as a whole, about an upstanding axis.